Leone v. F.J.M. Construction

George Leone petitions this court for a writ of prohibition, challenging an order of Judge of Compensation Claims Doris Jenkins which denied Leone’s motion to disqualify Judge Jenkins on grounds of bias against his counsel. We have jurisdiction. Fernandez v. White Plastering, 816 So.2d 1234 (Fla. 1st DCA 2002).

After a dispute arose over scheduling a hearing on a motion to vacate a merits order in Leone’s workers’ compensation case, a motion to disqualify was filed which was based primarily upon disparaging remarks allegedly made to Leone’s counsel by the judicial assistant (JA) to the Judge…